Thursday, July 28, 2011

88 Vanagon 2wd TDI conversion

This is one sweet Vanagon that somebody has put a lot of love into. We're doing our part by installing the engine that will power it like never before, achieve 30+ MPG and put it in another league altogether.

TDIpowered and back on the road with authority.

TDI Conversion A to Z:

TDI conversion in process.

Performance engine build 101:

Fresh back from the machine shop. Block is air blasted, taped and then painted the color du jour.

Oil squirters installed.

Crank laid, caps to be installed.

Main bearings w/plastigage. All nicely within spec. #4 bearing cap has a 360* oil groove in the bearing to improve bottom end oiling.

Piston comparison: ASV pistons on the top, standard AHU pistons on the bottom. Note the extra oil galleys underneath the piston crown on the ASV pistons. These interface with the oil squirters and increase piston crown cooling.

Close up of ASV vs. AHU pistons. This is why we spend the extra $$ and source the ASV pistons for all our performance builds.

Pistons #2 and #3 being installed.

All 4 pistons installed. Rod bearing radial clearances are checked next with plastigage.

ARP head studs installed along with head gasket.

Rebuilt cylinder head sealing surface being de-greased, ready for install.